Bipolar Disorder Support Group

Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.

confused about addiction with bipolar and ADD

So - I was diagnosed with bipolar on Dec. 5th and started rehab for addiction on Dec. 6th. As my Lamictal kicked in I started to feel better and by January I felt better than I have ever felt in my entire life.

I did not have any issues with addiction in anyway by January. I was honest with everyone. I felt very much at peace and I was more than willing to just follow all of the directions from my doctor. My old tendencies seemed to have disappeared.

Once my doctor and I felt I was stable with the Bipolar we tried to tackle the ADD in mid-March. We started with Stratera which did not work, but made me upset and frustrated. Then we tried Conserta which made me feel very angry - extremely, but it helped the ADD. Then we just recently tried Provigal.

The Provigal gave me that invincible feeling back. I felt like I could do anything and it would not matter. I was above all of the rules. I became outspoken at work and I was not really empathizing with other's feelings.

This might sound nice as far as the feeling part goes, but my wife and boss could not have a serious conversation with me. I tried for another week to hopefully adjust to the Provigil. I really did not want to be a jerk to folks. I did, however, like how it made me feel and it greatly helped my concentration. I began to feel more cloudy as far as feeling and rules goes. A lot like I felt before I was on my Lamictal.

So... I did not want to be giddy or angry. I decided on my own to mix the two - since they were different emotions. I thought it was working great. This seemed like a good idea at the time. I just felt even - no anger, or giddy and I could concentrate. I started to get supper tired from the Provigil so I upped the dose (since the medicine is originally designed to keep people awake). That was helping, but it would ware off after 8 hours. Then I tried taking a dose in the morning and 1 in the afternoon.

While just taking the Provigil and then mixing the two my wife started to ask me why I was pissed off all of the time. I had no idea I was coming across as pissed. I stopped taking both medications for a few days and I felt better.

This past Monday I called my Psychiatrist to ask if I could take both at the same time. I had decided that if he said no I would stop taking them. While I was waiting for him to call back I mixed the pills again. He called me a few hours later and said that was a bad idea.

That night I could tell I was extremely angry, tired, and easily frustrated. I threw the pills away the next morning (yesterday).

Once I started to mix the pills I started lying to my wife again. Which I find strange. She would not have liked what I was doing, but she would rather not be lied to. I knew all of this, but just seemed not to care. I don't know why. Needless to say - my wife is devastated by my lying again.

Wow - that was a long story. If anyone is still reading here is what I would like some advice on: So.. was this a relapse in addiction, was this my Bipolar, or was this just me being a royal dick?

First of all, I want to say great job on keeping track and knowing how you felt on which medication. Not everyone is able to keep that info straight.

Second, you were doing unsupervised medication trials. You were not addicted, it was not the effect of bipolar, and you don't come across as particularly dicky. You just had strong side-effects from your medication trials. Hypo-mania can be one of them, and it might have fueled your decision to lie.

In the future, 1) only do supervised medication trials; 2) only try one change at a time; 3) write down what you're taking every night on a post-it in your medicine cabinet, so your wife can know.

This last one is important. When I first started Abilify, I passed out in the middle of the night. Noone knows why, and it never happened again. But, if your wife were to call 911 because you passed out from mixing medication on your own, the EMT people NEED TO KNOW what's in your system.

A friend sent this to me..As far as I can see, grief will never truly end.It may become softer overtime, more gentleand some days will feel sharp.But grief will last as long as Love does - ForeverIt's simply the way the absence of your loved onemanifests in your heart. A deep longing accompaniedby the deepest Love some days. The heavy fog mayreturn and the next day, it may recede.Once again, it's...

theatre and I are there already. I'm having a very berry tea with crackers, cheese and cherry tomatoes and she's having a joint with some beer and we're both on really comfy recliners on thick pile carpet. we need some help with the decor if anyone is around??

All content posted on this site is the responsibility of the party posting such content.
Participation on this site by a party does not imply endorsement of any other party's content,
products, or services. Content should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.